Jeanne Fox

As Jeanne Fox prepares for her Senate confirmation hearings following her nomination to another term as President of the state Board of Public Utilities, it is interesting to note that her husband, Steve DeMicco, was the consultant on the 2007 campaigns against two Republicans who now serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee.  DeMicco worked for Ellen Karcher and Seema Singh, who lost to Jennifer Beck and Bill Baroni, respectively. 

BPU Commissioner Christine Bator was dumped by Gov. Jon CorzineGov. Jon Corzine has appointed former Assemblywoman Elizabeth Randall to hold one of the Republican seats on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, and has reappointed BPU President Jeanne Fox to another term.

One of Governor Jon Corzine’s goals for 2008 is a new state energy plan – that’s one of the reasons he opted to attend a global warming conference in Portugal the week before the November mid-term elections.  So far, the odds of Corzine achieving a successful energy plan appear slim – because of infighting within his administration.

A meeting of key administration officials last week did not go especially well: Corzine policy advisor Gary Rose wound up having quite a fight with two cabinet members – Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson and Board of Public Utilities President Jeanne Fox.  The hot-headed Rose, a my way or the highway kind of guy who came from Goldman Sachs, wound up screaming at the cabinet members before he stormed out of the room.

Seema Singh's campaign for the New Jersey State Senate is not going well. A Trenton Times story details an ethics complaint against her -- seemingly at the suggestion of her former boss, Public Advocate Ronald Chen. Last week, a Gannett story revealed that she accepted campaign contributions from top utility company executives just weeks after leaving her job as state Ratepayer Advocate. And Gannett columnist Bob Ingle wrote about the potential conflict of Singh's decision to hire political consultant Steve DeMicco, the husband of Board of Public Utilities Commission President Jeanne Fox.

The ethics investigation lends credibility to comments from Corzine administration officials that Singh was on the verge of being asked to leave state government. Some Democrats say her willingness to challenge popular GOP State Senator Peter Inverso was a face-saving exits strategy.

But Singh has qualified for the first round of public financing -- the only one out of eighteen possible candidates to do that so far -- and her GOP opponent, Assemblyman Bill Baroni, hasn't said a word about Singh's bad press -- not exactly the uber aggressive campaign New Jersey watched in April when Inverso announced his retirement.

State Sen. Tom Kean, Jr., the GOP candidate for U.S. Senate, says that the U.S. Attorney's investigation into the state Board of Public Utilities' Clean Energy program "should be welcomed by anyone who is interested in getting to the truth of this growing scandal and restoring New Jersey to a higher standard of ethical conduct."

"The Governor should direct the BPU to cooperate and ensure that the stonewalling that occurred with the Treasury audit is not repeated again." Kean says that the BPU program is "rife with ethical problems that may well rise to the level of criminal conduct." The BPU President, Jeanne Fox, is married to Steve DeMicco, who is managing the campaign of Kean's opponent, Senator Robert Menendez.

State Senator Thomas Kean, Jr., the Republican candidate for United States Senate, will hold a 10AM news conference today "on the mismanagement" of the Board of Public Utilities' Clean Energy Program. Insiders expect Kean to tie his Democratic opponent, incumbent Robert Menendez, to the BPU issue because the Senator's Campaign Director, Steve DeMicco, is married to BPU President Jeanne Fox.

The Political Insider, a weekly column on Hudson County politics in the Jersey Journal, reports that Bernard Kenny, the Senate Majority Leader and Hudson County Democratic Chairman, could be in line for a spot in Governor Jon Corzine's administration -- as President of the Board of Public Utilities (to replace Jeanne Fox) or as Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (to replace Anthony Coscia.) If he seeks re-election in 2007, Kenny faces a likely challenge in the Democratic from Assemblyman Brian Stack, the Mayor of Union City.

McHOSE: LATEST 'MISSTATEMENTS' FROM BPU SHOW AGENCY IS AWASH IN COVER-UP

AGAIN DEMANDS BUDGET COMMITTEE HEARING AND CALLS FOR SUBPOENA POWER

Truthful Answers to Revelations of Corruption Are Needed

Senator Peter A. Inverso, (R-Mercer/Middlesex), issued the following statement in response to a broadcast report on NJ 101.5 where Board of Public Utilities (BPU) President Jeanne M. Fox stated she possessed a document signed by a Department of the Treasury official authorizing her to open a bank account at Wachovia bank. The story on Millennium radio reported that two government officials who wished to remain anonymous stated that no such document existed.

INVERSO: FOX MUST EXPLAIN ACTIONS TO THE SENATE AND PUBLIC

Senator Peter A. Inverso (R-Mercer/Middlesex), has sent a letter to Senator Raymond Lesniak Chairman of the Senate Economic Growth Committee asking him to compel the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) President Jeanne M. Fox to appear before the Committee to answer questions regarding the alleged misappropriation of approximately $83 million in State funds. A copy of the letter to Senator Lesniak is attached.